2025/26 NFL Regular Season Thread

[GrantDawg]

Well, it is official. The Rams won that trade. Every time I read the story it gets worse. James Poerce Jr. tries to stop his WNBA player ex-girlfriend getting to the police station (who already had a reatraining order against him) by ramming her car multiple times, then flees from the cops, hits one of them with his car before wrecking it. He is going to jail for awhile.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...attery-charges

[Thomkal]

So can't root for an NFC West team to win the Superbowl unless its my Cards, so go Patriots? Just hope its a close game with no major injuries.

[CrimsonFox]

Go Hawks!

[Ghost Econ]

We got out of going to my inlaws because my daughter is at a swim meet. But I wish there was a camera in their study showing them watching the racists halftime show. They hate Kid Rocks music and hate country music, but are watching it out of spite.

I can't imagine doing something I hate out of spite for someone who doesn't even know I exist.

[MIJB#19]

I set plans to do some chores in the house during half time. As a warm up, I'll be testing the mute button for the remainder of the pre-game non-sense.

[Ghost Econ]

When I think of Bon Jovi I don't really think of Boston.

[albionmoonlight]

Ready for 3 hours of AI and Gambling App ads interspersed with what should be a pretty good football game.

[Ghost Econ]

O/U on the anthem was 117.5 seconds. I got 117.3. that might have to be a push on that bet.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

We got out of going to my inlaws because my daughter is at a swim meet. But I wish there was a camera in their study showing them watching the racists halftime show. They hate Kid Rocks music and hate country music, but are watching it out of spite.

I can't imagine doing something I hate out of spite for someone who doesn't even know I exist.

...and who's weirdly starting to look like Dr. Phil with a hat.

[MIJB#19]

I cannot get used to a football player wearing the jersey number 0.

[Ksyrup]

Montana moves like a person 10-15 years older than he actually is.

[Ghost Econ]

That was inches from a pick 6 for darnold.

[CrimsonFox]

Amazing grogu commercial

[JPhillips]

Pats really comfortable taking risks in pass D.

[Thomkal]

Pats just happy to be here so far

[Lathum]

As if MAGAs halftime show wasn't already pathetic Lady Gaga casually shows up in Bad Bunnys performance.

[Lathum]

Whats the deal with Pepsi having polar bears now?

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Lathum

As if MAGAs halftime show wasn't already pathetic Lady Gaga casually shows up in Bad Bunnys performance.

I thought it was a good idea they have at least one artist perform during half time that's recognized outside of the USA.

[AlexB]

Music - not for me. Controversial take: the show was the best I remember in terms of flow, storytelling, set design.

Even though the music was meh, I enjoyed it

[Lathum]

Bad play call to throw on 3rd and 1 there. Maye is seeing ghosts and you need to get to another series there.

[MIJB#19]

down 19-6, you go for two. Somebody on the Patriots side hasn't done the math.

[Ghost Econ]

Drake Meh

[CrimsonFox]

the bots picked an annoying night to bring down the site

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Music - not for me. Controversial take: the show was the best I remember in terms of flow, storytelling, set design.

Even though the music was meh, I enjoyed it

I've never at all been impressed by halftime shows, even from artists I like (rock and roll) Usually you can't even hear it well. But the whole dance number modern stuff is not something I like....however who cares. I'll go to the bathroom and read my book until it is over. That said I agree that I was astounded by the set (and set movement) and coordination of all those people...despite not totally understanding what was going on.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

down 19-6, you go for two. Somebody on the Patriots side hasn't done the math.

Hindsight is 20/20 but in the moment I said no. The math was the only data point that said the Patriots should have gone for two. Everything else said Maye just had the first three positive things happened for him all night. All we heard all night was how they had to managed the team in general and Maye specifically emotionally. No need to take that one bit of positivity away from him going into the next drive with twelve plus minutes to go only down twelve points. Kick the extra point, build on that drive while your defense is on the field and go after them again in the next drive.

The Patriots' youth and lack of offensive talent were their downfall last night. Full credit to the Seahawks. The defense was amazing. Offensively, they were smart enough to understand that there was no need to do anymore than they were doing. I don't know if this was the same Sam Darnold personality wise as the guy who was drafted by the Jets but if it was I get why that guy was so hated in NY. Not only was he awful on the field, but that guy seems so boring and so serious, he would have been an easy target for the tabloids.

[albionmoonlight]

It was fun to watch a defensive Super Bowl.

My facebook feed was flooded with relatives all pointing out that *they* were watching the TPUSA halftime show. I think some of them watched the game just so they could switch halftime shows and post about it.

Pats will be fine. Great organizational structure. Great coach. Best young QB in the game. Remember going into this season that they were supposed to still be in the first phase of their rebuild. The arrow is still pointing up.

That said, having had their pick of OTs in this past draft and chosen Campbell when Membou and Banks were still on the board is the kind of decision that haunts franchises for years. *Don't draft guys with horrible measurables, no matter how good they looked in college. The NFL is a different beast.*

Congrats to the Seahawks. Building around a journeyman QB and a defensive head coach was a bold move in 2026. And it actually paid off for them. Cool.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

My facebook feed was flooded with relatives all pointing out that *they* were watching the TPUSA halftime show. I think some of them watched the game just so they could switch halftime shows and post about it.

I guess that works out pretty well in the end for the NFL too, then.

I did one minute of googling and couldn't find out, but did the TPUSA show have a location? Were people there to see it live?

I didn't get to pay much attention to the game -- this was the first year my kids were able to sit and watch the game without also having some device with them, but that meant they talked the whole time, so it was like being at an annoying Super Bowl party.

[JPhillips]

It's too soon to give up on Campbell, but he's a big problem. Not sure I've seen a guy who gets run over so easily turn things around and develop into a solid tackle.

[albionmoonlight]

Definitely a first ballot troll Hall of Famer. (His girlfriend's t-shirt is the massage parlor where Robert Kraft got in trouble).

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

When I think of Bon Jovi I don't really think of Boston.

Yeah, I didn't get that either.

Per the halftime show, we actually kept it on and unmuted (we traditionally either don't pay attention or have put on the Puppy Bowl or something). I will admit to using part of it as a food/bathroom break though. It was fine, I'm good with anything that has a beat and is catchy enough. Generally I don't really care for concerts/shows though (can't stand their sudden need in random bowl games, outdoor hockey games, etc.)

[Thomkal]

In the end I'm glad the Seahawks won for only if I didn't have to see Robert Kraft with Trump again after he was in the Presidential Box with Trump for the Melania movie.

[Lathum]

I was in a $50 box pool and had hawks -9 and pats-5. Missing that 2 point conversion likely cost me 2k.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

That said, having had their pick of OTs in this past draft and chosen Campbell when Membou and Banks were still on the board is the kind of decision that haunts franchises for years. *Don't draft guys with horrible measurables, no matter how good they looked in college. The NFL is a different beast.*
.

I know the issue with Campbell in draft season was him having short arms. Maybe that was the issue yesterday but to my untrained eye, he could have had 40 inch arms and still looked he was too slow, too weak, lacking proper technique etc. I assume he scored highly on all of that stuff before the draft and none of that seemed to be an issue until the playoffs. I just wonder if that was the space where facing off with more balanced defenses especially on the line showed his limitations.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I know the issue with Campbell in draft season was him having short arms. Maybe that was the issue yesterday but to my untrained eye, he could have had 40 inch arms and still looked he was too slow, too weak, lacking proper technique etc. I assume he scored highly on all of that stuff before the draft and none of that seemed to be an issue until the playoffs. I just wonder if that was the space where facing off with more balanced defenses especially on the line showed his limitations.

You can look at his draft card on NFL.com and see all the weaknesses on display:

Struggles getting to his landmarks on lateral blocks.
Pad level and hand placement create leverage disadvantages.
Gets too far out over his skis and can be knocked off balance.
Protections marked by inconsistent footwork and body control.
Punch timing can be too mechanical and predictable.
Allows inside pressure due to oversets and early openings.
Struggles to redirect the rush when beaten on the edge.
Speed-to-power can bounce him into the pocket.

This may very well end up being an overreaction to one game, but last night looked exactly like the reason many teams were grading him as a guard.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I was in a $50 box pool and had hawks -9 and pats-5. Missing that 2 point conversion likely cost me 2k.

oof

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I was in a $50 box pool and had hawks -9 and pats-5. Missing that 2 point conversion likely cost me 2k.

Same for my boss. $2500 miss.

Too bad this site decided to crap the bed during the game (and most of the day, actually).

[GrantDawg]

The ratings are in, and the Super Bowl was the second most watched in history, just behind last year. The half-time show actually had more viewers than the game.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The ratings are in, and the Super Bowl was the second most watched in history, just behind last year. The half-time show actually had more viewers than the game.

tHe nFL iS dUmB tO dO tHis

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The ratings are in, and the Super Bowl was the second most watched in history, just behind last year. The half-time show actually had more viewers than the game.

Last year, and this, enjoyed the revised ratings methodology quite a bit.

And the halftime shed viewers from the two previous quarter-hours (i.e. the 2nd quarter), retention was only in the mid/upper 80 percent (was 95% last year). Was also the largest drop off from Q2 to halftime ever recorded. And was the first time in five years that halftime audience was less than the year before.

"Failure" would be too strong a word I'm sad to say, but I can't imagine that internally the league is anything other than disappointed.

The one thing I will also note is looks like the tune-out factor was roughly 2x as many people going to something else as went to the TPUSA alternative halftime. (i.e. that audience was roughly 1/3rd the number of people who tuned out overall)

[JPhillips]

Any info on how it did in Spanish speaking countries? That's really what they were going for. They already got the people watching the game.

[Ghost Econ]

Of course, the racists in the GOP want to hold hearings into the halftime show due to vulgar language... which, if you put a prompt into their white nationalist LLM Grok, will show you in about 7 seconds to show that the lyrics were changed for the show and even translated there was no foul language. Surely even Jon would be annoyed by such a colossal waste of time and money.

But jeez, I wish these woke libtards would stop injecting politics into sports.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Music - not for me. Controversial take: the show was the best I remember in terms of flow, storytelling, set design.

Same here. The music was fine but forgettable, but the show was incredible. I mean, they built a bodega in the middle of a sugar cane field!

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

I've never at all been impressed by halftime shows, even from artists I like (rock and roll) Usually you can't even hear it well.

Jack White's mini-concert this Thanksgiving in Detroit was like the platonic ideal of a good rock halftime show.

[CrimsonFox]

I think the thing this halftime show had that others did not is the upclose moving camera. That thing was just flowing perfectly. He must have been a former survivor cameraman

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Surely even Jon would be annoyed by such a colossal waste of time and money.

I just want his citizenship status revoked and his sorry ass deported ... preferably relocated to the sun. Maybe Elon has a spare rocket he'd cut a deal for.

Which is no different than I feel about any other anti-ICE p.o.s.

My objection to an FCC investigation -- it's their job, not Congress -- would be that there's really not enough teeth in those rules to make the juice worth the squeeze, so technically you're kinda right about my reaction to worrying about that aspect much.

[RainMaker]

We need tougher laws against songs I don't like.

[MIJB#19]

That Super Bowl gig worked out well for this in some parts of the world previously unknown artist. Bad Bunny's single "DTMF" entered the Dutch music chart after it miserably flopped a year earlier. But that's just marginal compared to his global success after that gig. I don't care that he was apparently the most streamed artist in the USA (and effectively worldwide) in 2025, Donald Trump can be proud, he made something from America great.